Liebster Award Responses

This is what happens when you don't blog for several months. My beautiful friend at I'm not fat, I'm metabolically efficient nominated me for a Leibster Award in November and I just saw it. Talk about a procrastinator. This is an award given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. I probably have less than that because I'm not consistent in my blogging.

 

The rules:

1. Think of 11 facts you'd like to share about yourself.

2. Answer the questions I asked.

3. Think of 11 questions you'd like to ask (come on, have fun, it's a way to be nosy without being rude)

4. Nominate 5 bloggers

11 Facts about myself:

1. I am a procrastinator - hello, did I not just say that? (Considering this has taken me 4 years to complete!!)

2. I'm addicted to Facebook games. Hence, my procrastinating. I'd rather sit with my family and play on Facebook than do housework, obviously.

3. I have an Accounting/Finance degree, and worked in the Mortgage Industry for 10 years before I became a mom.

4. I love my kids and am a strict mom in some aspects. Most of the time I love being a mom, but with an 11 and 13 year old (now 15 and 17, see, procrastination), sometimes that is tested!

5. I love watching movies. The whole family loves movies. We could (and do) watch movies over and over again.

6. I've been married to my wonderful husband for 21 years in May (ok, 25 now, do we see a theme?). We met in college and have been together for 25 years.

7. We just moved out of the house we lived in for 20 years and can not believe how much stuff we accumulated (this is current!!)

8. We have a wonderful Bernese Mountain Dog that we love dearly!! We lost our Great Dane two years ago and still miss her.

9. I have a hard time dealing with the loss of someone close to me.

10. I very much enjoy sitting down with a good book, also another form of procrastination.

 11. My family are the most important people in my life.

 Questions asked by the person who nominated me, I'm not fat, I'm metabolically efficient

1. Was there a pivotal moment that made you decide to take on this weight loss challenge or a combination of different moments and what where they?
Yes, when our family went to Elitch Gardens (Amusement Park) my daughter and I couldn't ride on a ride because I could not fasten the belt. She was 5 and I felt like a horrible mom because of it.  

2. If you could tell something to the 20 year old you, what would it be?
You need to do the best you can with whatever you do, don't assume that anyone owes you anything.

3. What is your favorite holiday/season and why?

Christmas, because it is a time to spend time with friends and family. It is a magical time of year.

4. What is your favorite thing about blogging? Your least favorite thing?
 My favorite thing about blogging is that I learn about people and I am able to express my thoughts and feelings without too much judgement. My lease favorite, I don't do it enough.

5. If you were in a zombie apocalypse what would be your weapon of choice (this question brought to you by my children).
A very large gun. 

6. How well to you take advice? How well do you give it?

I think I take advice well, but have been told differently. I try not to give advice, I've been burned by this before.

7. Think of a time that makes you smile....describe what happened.
My children make me smile all the time. 

8. Name one thing on your bucket list.
To travel with my husband.

9. Name a pet-peeve -- particularly if you do it yourself so it's even WORSE when other people do it (not that this is EVER a problem for me).

People who act better than others. (No, I do not act this way and never will!) This is not only a pet-peeve, it sticks in my craw every time I see others doing it.  

10. If money and size are no object where would you shop for your clothes.
Same places I do now (with the exception on Lane Bryant).

11. Do you think people are essentially good, or bad and why?
I feel most people are essentially good, with a few exceptions. There are always exceptions to every rule.  

Questions I want to ask my nominees.

1. What careers did you consider before the one you are in currently?

2. What were you most afraid of as a child? What are you most afraid of now?

3. What type of music do you enjoy?

4. What is different about your life today that you never would have predicted 10 years ago?

5. Do you watch any sports on TV? Which ones?

6. What was your most favorite vacation?

7. Star Wars or Star Trek?

8. What is the last movie you saw in a theater?

9. Do you wear a watch? If you don’t, why not?

10. What do you look forward to about the holidays? What do you dread about the holidays?

11. If you were the leader of your country (i.e. president, prime minister, etc.), what are the first changes you would make in the country’s policies?

 My nominees (please please play):

My how time flies.....

Starting weight: 301
Weight at last weigh-in: 222
Today's weight: 190
Total lost: 110

It has been alomost 5 years since my surgery and I could not be happier. I have more energy and can fit into normal size clothes. 

There have been ups and downs and days that wasn't sure if I did the right thing. I really wanted to keep a log of my progress, but life got in the way. The more time passes, the easier it gets to feel that I have done what I needed to do.

It has been a long journey and I am ready for the next. 

With rapid weight loss comes lots of extra skin and I am wanting to get all of that taken care of. Off to see the plastic surgeon in a couple months, I hope.

All I know is that without the love and support of my family I would never have made it

This is me on my 48th birthday (las year), and I didn't shy away from the camera. In fact, I love taking pictures with my favorite people!

Happy New Year

Starting weight: 301
Weight at last weigh-in: 250
Today's weight: 222
Total lost: 79

Thankfully the holidays are over and the New Year has arrived. I couldn't believe it when I got on the scales today and am down to 222lbs.

I waited as long as I could to buy some new clothes, or at least until they started falling off my hips. I officially have gone from a 4xl or 5xl to a 1xl in women's for pants. My tops are a different story. I am still trudging along with the ones I have, wearing lots of tank tops. I am going to look into getting new tops around April. Going to Hawaii in May and excited about my skinner, although more hanging skin, body. I really need to start working on getting that taken care of. Surgery is always an option, but not until I level out, obviously. Not really even thinking about that right now, I knew this was going to happen.

I am happy to say that eating has leveled out and I am able to eat "normally" now. I have noticed that I can tolerate most foods but really need to stay away from fatty foods. I'm still doing well on front loading on protein, but am glad that I can eat a small amount of bread or carbs if I want to.

Woo Hoo

Starting Weight: 301
Weight at last weigh-in: 252.2
Today's weight: 250.5
Total lost: 50.5

I made it to 50, I am so happy. Yesterday I pulled my pants down without even unbuttoning them. I actually thought I had them unbuttoned already much to my surprise, the weren't. This week has been a little hard on me as far as eating goes, but if I take it slow and don't put a lot on my plate, I'm doing much better. Can always go back for more if I need it. I'm finally figuring out how much is too much. It's weird how sometimes I can eat more than others, I guess it's not really an exact science.

New Underwear???

Starting weight 301
Last Weigh-In 260.5
Today Weigh-In 252.5
Total Lost 48.5

So I am almost to 50 pounds gone! Woo Hoo! At my last weight-in I was 40 pounds lighter. I was thrilled but not sure why I was melancholy. My bestie told me that I lost a "big toddler" and I felt much happier. Not that I would get rid of a toddler, but it was nice to know that I was a "toddler" lighter.

I made the decision that I would not go out and get new clothes every 20-30 pounds. One, it would cost us a fortune, and two, I don't want to get clothes I love and then have to go get different ones. So, right now my pants are big and sometimes I feel like a high school boy with all the sagging. My shirts are big, but I like them that way. So all in all I have been pretty happy with the clothes I have. Throw a tank top under my bigger shirts and I am all covered up.

However, my undies are a different story and I never really considered that. So today I went to go get new undies. I figure since I'm not buying new clothes, I might as well get something that doesn't make me feel like I have a load in my pants. New undergarments might be next, we'll have to see.

(I looked for pictures for sagging and undies and NONE were appropriate. So much for making my blog more "colorful".)

So Another couple weeks go by

I am still trying to figure out what I can and can't eat. Some things still go down much easier than others.

It can be frustrating at times, but then I realize I've lost 40 pounds and decide that it is all worth it.

I have been on the boards at VerticalSleeveTalk.com, it's been an education. I did some research before I underwent surgery, but really relied on my friends (whom I trust with all my heart) who had been through this or something similar. I also trusted and relied on my doctor (who is awesome). I'm not a big researcher, but will if pushed. Of course, while getting my "education" from the website, I have invented things that may have gone wrong. Nothing big mind you, but my mind plays tricks on me. I have stopped with all of that, thankfully and am feeling great.

I am also very thankful that I haven't gone through the worse of the complications that can occur. I am also thankful that none of my friends experienced any of those complications. They sound painful and disheartening.

This week has brought more of the same. I still need to get into a regular workout routine, yes I am procrastinating. But I have been doing some stuff at home, so not being a complete slug. Wish me luck on this endeavour.

Happy Fall

I am now officially on "regular" food.

So, I am confused, I could hardly wait to be on normal food again and honestly, kept trying foods that were not really on my diet (full soft diet) because I was just getting too bored with what I was "allowed" to eat. When I went through my binder class, the nutritionist said that some people were afraid to eat normal food. Not so with me, I was excited to eat something other than soup, cottage cheese, and yogurt. And although I LOVE those foods, after six weeks of it, I wanted something a bit more.

I am now on to, "soft" meats. To me this means anything that isn't dry and icky anyway. I rarely, if ever, ate dry meat pre-surgery.  However, I have found that the only "fast-food" chicken I can tolerate is Chik-Fil-A. I love their chicken strips so no worries there.

My hubby has been very supportive with my meals. He is a wonderful cook and I am happy to say, this has not changed after my surgery. He is finding healthy, protein packed meals to cook for me. He cooked a Mexican Lasagna this weekend that was wonderful. We treated it like a dip, but was awesome all the same. My children even ate left-overs, which never happens! It's too bad he isn't home more, I love that he cooks.